The Day His World Was Gone
by alwaysmarauders
Summary: Everything was gone, and finally, he broke down.


The man in the small shop was old, and wheezing when Sirius entered the shop. The muggle didn't seem to even notice him as he made his way to the door that led to the stairs to the upper floor. It was the perfect place for one to go unnoticed. Barely anyone came into the shop, and the old muggle man was too described to even remember the names of the tenants he leased the apartments above to.

Sirius made his way up the creaking steps. He didn't know what it was, but everything felt off somehow. This was the time he'd arranged to check on Peter, but something about it was unsettling. The normally short journey to his hideout seemed to drag on increasingly.

When he raised a hand to knock on the door, he found that it had been left ajar. His heart stopped, if only just for a moment, and pushing the door open with more force than necessary. It looked exactly how it did the day they had first arrived. Dank, Moldy, and filled with old moth eaten furniture. Peter, however, was nowhere to be seen.

Sirius could feel the blood drain from his face and within seconds he was running. He ran back out the still open door, down the creaking steps, past the old muggle shopkeeper, and out onto the street where he had left his bike. His mind unable to think of anything but what might have become of those whom he called family, he sped off into the night. Peter's hiding spot was only a few towns away from Godric's Hollow, so, with a determined mind he made the distance quickly.

The sight that awaited him was enough to break him at that very moment. Muggles from around the village were already crowding around the now destroyed house. It still stood, but Sirius could see just how much damage had come to it.

Pushing a few bystanders aside he ran forward and through what was left of the front door. The reality of what had happened came crashing down when he looked upon a the blank face of his best friend lying lifeless on the floor. If there were any time for Sirius to cry, this would be it. But he couldn't bring himself to it, not yet. He couldn't cry when that traitorous bastard was still out there. He just stared at James' face with a broken, numb look. His world, his friends, they were gone. And Harry?

As his mind flashed to Harry, Sirius took off through the rubble to what could once be recognized as the nursery of the house. Someone was already there. He knew who is was instantly.

"Hagrid?" His voice was hoarse and dry. It shocked even himself.

As Hagrid turned to him, Sirius' eyes fell to the stirring baby in his arms. It couldn't be… Harry was alive?

There were tears in Hagrid's eyes, and as the fell they left his beard glistening and wet. The great man blubbered. It seemed as though he wanted to reach over and pull Sirius into a hug.

"Let me take him. I'm his godfather. I can take care of him. I'm all he has left."

An even sadder look fell to Hagrid's eyes. "I'm on strict orders from Professor Dumbledore. I'm to take 'em to Dumbledore right away."

Sirius' heart sank. Maybe it was for the best. What could he possibly give the boy. He had to find Peter, and he hadn't the faintest idea how that would turn out.

In the end, he offered Hagrid his bike, who took it willingly, and watched his Godson fly off into the night. Part of him wondered if he would ever see the boy again.

He apparated from the scene and back to his flat. He didn't stay there long though. For the next few days, Sirius didn't sleep, he barely ate. There was only one thought on his mind. Every waking moment was spent searching for Peter. He checked records, questioned inn keepers and shop owners to see if anyone had seen him. Peter must be in hiding again, now that his master had been defeated.

On his second day of searching, he realized where he had to go. It wasn't often that Sirius took to visiting his family, but at the moment he didn't care. He would find Peter, or die trying. He traveled to the home of a certain deranged cousin of his, and was greeted by a curse or two.

"Where is he?" he boomed.

Bellatrix merely laughed. There was some more yelling on Sirius' part, and more laughing on Bellatrix's. He knew it's just one of her games. It's not as though she actually wants to keep Peter's whereabouts a secret.

A twisted smile fell upon her face, and she told him the name of the town he's currently hiding in. She said she knows because only this morning she paid him a little visit as well. The death of Peter will be of no loss to Bellatrix, only amusement.

Sirius left the manor without a single word in goodbye to his cousin. He apparated to the location she told him, and he doesn't know if it's just luck, but immediately he saw Peter from across the busy street. Peter was exiting an inn. Bellatrix must have scared him enough to already switch hiding spots. It seems Sirius got there at just the right time.

He took long strides across the road, disregarding the traffic. When he reached the rat he saw that his face is contorted in nervous twitches. Sirius hadn't been the only one losing sleep these past days.

"They were your friends!" Was all he was able to yell. Emotions were clouding his judgement, and he raised his wand with every intent on ending the vermin's life. As he did though, Peter flicked his wand, not a Sirius, but at the street behind him. In the explosion that followed Sirius was knocked to the ground, and he lost sight of Peter in the smoke. When it cleared, he saw the single bloody finger. Seemingly it was all that was left of Peter.

He laughed. He didn't know why, but he laughed. The laugh was sick, and defeated, for now all he could do was face the pain that he had been pushing back. He had nothing to make him forget it.

The authorities were beginning to arrive, and before they could approach him, he apparated back to the place where his world had collapsed.

He walked slowly through the street of Godric's Hollow, no longer caring who saw him. It was all over anyways. When he reached the small graveyard he collapsed to his knees in front of the freshly buried graves. Finally, the tears came. He cried and he cried for an amount of time that was unknown to him. When they finally stopped, he was numb.

That's when the aurors showed up he doesn't looked at them. He merely let out another defeated laugh. Everything was gone.

When they took hold of him, he made no objections. He knew what they saw him as: A twisted man who killed his best friends. In a way that's what he was, wasn't it? It was his fault. He was the one who made James and Lily switch the secret keeper to Peter. Everything was his fault.

When the trail came around he was emotionless. They sentenced him for the deaths that Peter committed. He simply stared at the prosecutor with the faintest of smiles, for in his mind, this was what he deserved for not protecting the Potter's in the way he should have.


End file.
